Unhappy Endings

152: Exhaustion

"That! That! That absolute TOSSER stole my old work book!" Severus yelled as he slammed the door behind you both. Furiously, he tore off his wet and bloodied clothes and tossed them to the side to be taken care of later.

"And?" You stripped yours off as well and found a robe for the time being. You also handed Severus his robe and sat on the bed to listen to the rant.

"And?! Not only is he cheating his way through class with it, but he's utilizing spells way beyond the capacity of his mundane little mind!"

"And why do you let that bother you? Safety issue aside, why do you care what that child does? And to such a degree? I'd be exhausted..." You laid back on the bed as he began dressing in less formal but still professional clothing. "I am exhausted, Severus. Keeping up with all these secrets, working on the projects, protecting everyone... I just... I want to stop..."

He willfully ignored your first three questions, took a deep breath and laid down next to you. "I am exhausted as well. But we have a meeting. Meet me there?"

"Yes, allow me a few minutes-- I get dressed much slower than you do I suppose!" With a light chuckle, you both stood up. With a kiss on the forehead, again, Severus was off. It seemed like this day would never end-- every time you started something, it would go wrong and you would end up resetting back in your quarters. Why not just stay all day? Clearly nothing good was going to happen outside of them.

Then, you made the mistake of closing your eyes. Unfortunately, when they opened again, a few hours had passed. Hurriedly, you got dressed and found your way towards the headmaster's office. Roughly halfway there, you encountered an all too familiar face: Harry Potter. You greeted him and cordially asked where he was headed. Once you discovered it was indeed the same and usual place, you escorted him as well. What surprised you though, was that your husband was still in the office and still talking to Albus. Or screaming at him was more appropriate. 

"She can't do this anymore! She's exhausted! I see the pain in her eyes every time we are tasked to do something. I see how she suffers pretending to have one single ounce of evil in her. She's my wife and I must protect her!"

"Unfortunately, Severus, being your wife entails all of the work that is currently entrusted to her. She agreed to do so, and if she were to quit now, it would jeoporadize everything. Besides, I think if she really wanted to quit, she would come and tell me herself... isn't that right, Esmeralda?" Albus waved the door open, catching you mid-knock and making your face flush a chartreuse of embarrassment.

"Well... yes. But I do adore you Severus for trying to make things easier on me. I would, however, feel worse if I were sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing."

"Enough said." Dumbledore nodded. "I've shared everything with Severus dear, you may go take your rest. Mr. Potter, come, sit."